"The Pride of Providence" made a successful return to the ring after a year-long absence, the longest of his career, delighting his fans with a clear unanimous decision over a determined Rayco Saunders.

Peter Manfredo, Jr, who burst into national prominence through his participation in the first season of “The Contender” improved to 38-7 (20 KOs) with a fine display of boxing this past Thursday at Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports card at Twin Rivers Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Manfredo, weighing just over the super-middleweight limit at 169 pounds was clearly the smaller man, giving away 4” to his rangy opponent, but still used his experience and skills to outjab, out-move, and outpunch the tough Pittsburgh journeyman.

Saunders (22-19-2, 9 KOs) pressed forward under a tight defense but neglected to let his hands go often which allowed Manfredo to work a strong jab that setup a sustained body attack throughout the bout. Manfredo moved well avoiding the occasional attack from Saunders who seemed to be looking for the one big shot all night.

The only real damage was a headbutt that opened a cut over the eye of Manfredo in the ninth round but the laceration was too late in the fight to play any role in the outcome.

The judges saw the bout 99-91 and 100-90 twice. FightNews scored the contest at 98-92.

Manfredo, in addressing his fans, did not commit to any upcoming bouts, but did not rule them out either. Initially wanting to return to end his career on a better note than his 2011 loss to Julio Caesar Chavez, Jr, Manfredo stated when asked if he was on his way back to title contention that it (the win) was a small step first to decide what would be next.

Vincent vs. Thomas entertains fans

In an entertaining co-feature, Providence jr. featherweight Shelito “Shelly” Vincent continued her unbeaten streak improving to 6-0 with a highly entertaining decision win over Canadian Rosie Thomas in a six-round female bout. A former national amateur champion, Vincent entered the ring sporting the most unique hairstyle this writer has seen since Jorge Paez was a world champ. Vincent showcased a spiked doo that was dyed to match the Italian flag colors of her trunk along with the CES logo shaved into the sides. Concern for maintaining her coif certainly did not affect her performance as he showed speed, aggressiveness, and defense against the skilled Thomas (2-1) who came to fight, losing a one-sided but highly competitive bout.

Gardner decisions Amparo

Woonsocket super-middleweight Joey Gardner improved to 10-5-1 (1 KO) with a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Alex Amparo (5-1, 3 KOs) of Providence. Gardner boxed well, using the full ring and mixing his punches up, showing Amparo’s inexperience and lack of a complete arsenal. Although Amparo’s entire repertoire seemed to exclusively consist of a left hook and looping right, he was certainly the stronger fighter, doing damage when he landed, but unfortunately, he did not land often enough to make a difference in the outcome of the fight.

Burris pummels Cobbs!

In an interesting light-heavyweight bout between two undefeated local fighters, Tylon Burris of Hartford, CT improved to 4-0 (3) with a second round stoppage over the cheerful Kevin Cobbs of Burlington, Vermont by way of New Bedford, MA. Although he entered the ring with an impressive 6-0 ledger, the inexperience of Cobbs was painfully evident as Burris easily landed the shorter, crisper, and more effective punches, dropping his opponent with a clean straight right in the first round, closing the show at 1:19 of the second with a fierce barrage of punches to the head and body, leaving Cobbs helpless on the ropes and prompting referee Joey Lupino to end the carnage.

Ramsey impressive with knockout win!

In the opening bout, standout amateur Zack Ramsey (3-0, 3 KOs) made short work out of severely outclassed a last-minute substitute Michael Lambert of Mobile, Alabama, knocking the hapless pro debuter out at 1:15 of the first with a vicious left hook, right cross combination. Ramsey, who was a reported 96-4 as an amateur, looked sharp from the start, and could easily compete with any of the fine crop of 140-147 pound prospects in New England at the present time.

Ringside Notes

Vladine Biosse had been scheduled to appear in the co-feature when his opponent, the reliable Dennis Sharpe, had to return home to New Jersey the afternoon the of the bout after his mother was involved in a severe car accident. Our best wishes go to Sharpe and his family. Biosse is expected to return to the ring in January on a CES card at Mohegan Sun.